Archinect - News

Foster + Partners tops out Shenzhen skyscraper inspired by rock formations and paper folding

2024-04-15T13:50:00-04:00

The Foster + Partners-designed China Merchants Bank Headquarters in Shenzhen has topped out. The office tower forms part of a wider mixed-use development, which, when completed, will form a “new city quarter” in Shenzhen.

Image credit: zhangchao via Foster + Partners

Externally, the tower is clad in glass and stainless steel, the result of an “iterative modeling process to minimize the energy consumption of active systems by carefully balancing solar shading, daylight and thermal loads,” according to the team. The tower’s north facade is inspired by rock formations in China with stacked bays varying in height, while the south-facing facade is inspired by the geometries of traditional paper folding.

Image credit: zhangchao via Foster + Partners

“The new tower is a unique addition to Shenzhen’s urban fabric and will be an enduring symbol of China Merchants Bank,” Foster + Partners Head of Studio Grant Brooker said about the scheme. “The building’s wide curved windows offer spectacular v...

MVRDV transforms 1990s Shenzhen tower into ‘vibrant and colorful skyscraper’

2023-10-09T11:56:00-04:00

Construction has been completed on the MVRDV-designed Shenzhen Women & Children’s Centre, transforming an old mixed-use tower in the Chinese megacity into a “vibrant and colorful skyscraper.” The 330-foot-tall tower contains a hotel alongside a range of facilities for the welfare of women and children.

Image credit: Xia Zhi

The original tower was completed in 1994 during a period of rapid growth in Shenzhen. Plagued by two decades of fire safety concerns, the tower remained largely empty until the decision in 2019 to overhaul the building.

Existing tower before MVRDV's commission. Image credit: MVRDV

Image credit: Xia Zhi

MVRDV’s proposal for the tower saw the existing structure reused in an effort to avoid the carbon cost of demolishing and rebuilding. The most visible aspect of the transformation is a new facade featuring a grid of multicolored exterior frames. The new three-foot-deep envelope is designed to provide extra shading while also incorporating openable panels for natural v...

Rocco Design Architects' new Shenzhen tower features a seven-level internal courtyard

2023-08-04T11:29:00-04:00

Rocco Design Architects has released photographs of their newly-completed Essence Financial Securities tower in Shenzhen. The 635-foot-tall high-rise combines two separate headquarters offices, financial trading halls, and commercial office space in a self-described “vertical neighborhood.”

Image credit: Rocco Design Architects

The building's exterior design elevates the main body of the tower, creating a pedestrian passage that connects the entrance plaza to the wider Futian district. At the base of the tower, a volume clad with green walls is topped by a public roof deck that extends into a public plaza, while above, pedestrian sky bridges link the tower to nearby buildings.

Image credit: Rocco Design Architects

Image credit: Zhang Chao Studio

Inside, the tower’s defining elements are a series of triple- and septuple-height internal courtyards. Located within the three stacks of floors at the upper heights of the tower, the courtyards sit in voids...

400 hanging mushroom bricks used in Studio Link-Arc’s Shenzhen Biennale installation

2023-03-22T11:27:00-04:00

New York City firm Studio Link-Arc has created an installation in Shenzhen formed from 400 hanging mushroom bricks. Titled 'Mushroom Brick Pyramids,' the project was created for the 2022 Shenzhen Biennale, which adopted the theme ‘More than Human Adventure.’

Photo credit: Yu Bai

Seeking to respond to the theme with a project that explored “the intersection between living organisms and architecture,” the studio chose mycelia as their working material due to its ability to survive and adapt to varying environments. As a result, the installation aimed to reflect, visualize, and learn from the organisms in order to inform future architectural applications of the material.

Photo credit: Yu Bai

The resulting scheme was set within a converted old brewery, which included a gallery space between the continuous concrete frames. Beneath the 400 hanging mushroom bricks, a pool was created to provide a moist microclimate, while the indoor-outdoor nature of the space allowed for additional moisture...

Foster + Partners completes Shenzhen DJI towers with large cantilevering volumes

2022-10-06T09:00:00-04:00

Foster + Partners has completed the new headquarters for leading drone and camera company DJI in Shenzhen, China. Described by the design team as a “heart of innovation” for the company, the scheme’s two towers rise 40 and 44 stories to a height of 105 meters (344 feet).

Inside the headquarters, office and research spaces are arranged as floating volumes cantilevered from central cores, supported by large megatrusses and circular profiled steel suspension rods.

Image courtesy of Foster + Partners

Such a system, rare for high-rise towers, was chosen to negate the need for internal columns and to allow for quadruple-height drone flight testing labs. The imprint of the quadruple-height labs can also be seen on the external façade via distinct V-shaped trusses.

Image courtesy of Foster + Partners

The two towers are linked by a 90-meter-long (295-foot-long) suspension bridge, described by the design team as “a lightweight element that creates an elegant connection between the two volumes...

OMA, David Chipperfield, and Sou Fujimoto team up to design $1.4 billion cultural-retail complex in Shenzhen

2022-07-22T17:38:00-04:00

A team consisting of David Chipperfield, OMA, and Sou Fujimoto is leading the design of an expansive, $1.4 billion cultural-retail complex on the coast of Shenzhen.

Called K11 ECOAST, the development will span more than 2.4 million square feet and be located in Prince Bay in Shenzhen’s Nanshan District. The project is being jointly developed by Hong Kong billionaire Adrian Cheng’s New World Development Company Limited, along with China Merchants Shekou Holdings in Shenzhen.

Image courtesy K11 Group

The project is part of the Chinese government’s effort to develop its Greater Bay Area region, which includes southern cities, such as Shenzhen and Guangzhou, into arts and business hubs by 2035. Cheng’s vision for K11 ECOAST is to establish a new creative and cultural destination for the region. The complex will consist of a mall, multi-purpose art space, office buildings, and a promenade. The complex’s design places an emphasis on balancing the architecture with the surrounding coastal...

Bao'An Performing Arts Center by Rocco Design Architects opens in Shenzhen

2022-02-21T15:24:00-05:00

Rocco Design Architects Associates have completed the Performing Arts Center as part of their wider Bao-An Cultural District masterplan in Shenzhen, China. The 600 seat, 28,000-square-meter building houses Shenzhen’s first performance hall and will host opera, dance, symphonies, and dramatic performances.

Overlooking Quanhai Bay and the South China Sea, the building anchors the southern end of the Bao-An Cultural District. The 110,000-square-meter arts and performance complex was masterplanned and designed by Rocco Design Architects and includes three major new destinations: the Performing Arts Center, a Library, and a Youth Palace. The Library was completed in 2013 and the Youth Palace in 2018.

The design of the Performing Arts Center takes inspiration from the long and narrow waterfront site. The base of the building is a low-slung, wave-like volume that provides a sense of rhythm and movement along the campus’s axis. The building’s delicately perforated façade refers back to an...

Aether Architects presents an adaptive reuse transformation of an abandoned industrial facility in Shenzhen

2022-01-11T13:45:00-05:00

Aether Architects has unveiled a sleek adaptive reuse project of an abandoned factory boiler building in Shenzhen. Renovated for Zhongcheng Space Holdings Group, the structure had been sitting empty for more than ten years before its renovation.

The original building had no windows and was riddled with cracks. It was determined that the building was dangerous and required structural reinforcement before reuse. While it had been abandoned for such an extended period of time, the architects appreciated its washed rice stone elevations. As stated by the design team, the material made the structure appear like an ashlar stand amidst the surrounding lush vegetation.

The original factory boiler building.

The architects aimed to preserve this presence. Therefore, the core mission for the renewal was establishing the necessary lighting and ventilation to adapt the site for human use while retaining its original atmosphere.

The design team wanted to introduce the surrounding vegetation into...

SOM-designed "Breathing" bank headquarters opens in Shenzhen

2022-01-04T12:36:00-05:00

Skidmore, Owings & Merrill (SOM) has completed a 158-meter-tall, 33-story tower, located at the center of one of Shenzhen’s key business districts. The structure responds to the region’s tropical climate through a series of biophilic and sustainable design solutions. SOM was commissioned by Shenzhen Rural Commercial Bank in 2012 to design a new headquarters that merges its past with its vision for the future.

SOM's work on this project included architecture, mechanical, electrical and plumbing, structural, and civil engineering.

The tower’s façade is defined by an external diagrid, which acts as both the building’s structure and solar shading element. At its base, the diagrid widens to create framed openings and views of the surrounding park and nearby South China Sea.

“We’re always exploring opportunities to synthesize inventive engineering solutions with architectural design,” said SOM Design Partner Scott Duncan. “The Rural Commercial Bank Headquarters gave us the chance to incor...

MVRDV hopes this will become Shenzhen's newest new cultural resource

2021-11-30T20:26:00-05:00

As part of ongoing development authored by the Vanke Research Center in Shenzhen, MVRDV has revealed the completion of a refurbished factory building that will help transform a former industrial site into what it says will be one of the city’s most important community hubs.

Located in the city’s Nantou district, the 11,000 square meter Idea Factory development will serve as a much-needed fount of cultural exchange for the city of over 12.5 million.

Image © Xia Zhi

A revealed concrete core structure makes up the new facade lined with loggias and centered by a wood-cladded semicircle protruding balcony located on the fourth floor of the building’s east-facing side.

Image © Xia Zhi

Topped off by an atypical public garden that is divided by a bamboo-walled maze, the building’s rooftop is outfitted with a number of different spaces including a glassbox performance venue, gym, tea house, play and dining areas. Finally, a giant chessboard and dance floor complete the program, with a fair am...

Ennead Architects unveils “eggshell” performance center in Shenzhen

2021-10-12T11:15:00-04:00

Ennead Architects has released images of their competition-winning design for the new International Performance Center in Shenzhen. The company, which is currently hiring a BIM Specialist and Computational Designer on Archinect Jobs, hopes that their scheme will “reimagine the possibilities of immersive performing arts experiences.”

Image courtesy of Ennead Architects. Rendering by Plomp.

Referred to as “The People’s Performing Arts Center,” the scheme is one of three new buildings to be built as part of a cultural masterplan for Shenzhen’s Futian District, alongside the Shenzhen Reform and Opening-Up Exhibition Hall and the Shenzhen Finance Culture Center.

Image courtesy of Ennead Architects. Rendering by Plomp.

Ennead’s scheme adopts the form of two richly-textured, golden egg-like shells to create a façade that changes with the time of day and season. The two elements are both dependent and complimentary of one another, reflecting the relationship between the performer and the a...

Laguarda.Low Architects designs verdant mixed-use park in Shenzhen

2021-08-26T14:48:00-04:00

New York-based Laguarda.Low Architects has designed a sprawling 128-acre, mixed-use park in Shenzhen that aims to restore the city’s Bao’an district “to its former high level of livability.”

The OCT OH Bay Waterfront Retail Park, which opened in February of this year, joins the new Shenzhen International Airport, new government headquarters, and cultural facilities. The park is on a three-quarter-mile waterfront site, split into four primary zones: east and west waterfront retail park, urban business center, and Waterfront Cultural Park. A natural landscape intertwines with the built settings, dissected by pedestrian paths.

Entertainment venues, leisure facilities, and a performing arts center are all featured, emanating from an expansive open-air plaza. An abundance of natural light and “choreographed circulation,” as stated by the architects, redefine the traditional shopping experience.

The urban business center features terraced office buildings and a hotel that provide views ...

World’s first 'farmscraper' unveiled by Carlo Ratti Associati in Shenzhen

2021-08-26T12:43:00-04:00

Carlo Ratti Associati (CRA) has unveiled a project dubbed “the world’s first farmscraper,” to be built in Shenzhen, China. The 218-meter-high, 51-story Jian Mu Tower will contain a large-scale farm system with the ability to produce crops to feed 40,000 people per year, as well as offices, a supermarket, and a food court.

CRA’s design was among the finalists for an international competition organized by leading Chinese supermarket chain Wumart, occupying the last available plot of land in Shenzhen’s Central Business District. The name of the Jian Mu Tower is derived from the mythical symbol of the “jian mu tree” which, in ancient Chinese folklore, connects heaven and earth. According to the tradition, heaven is depicted as round, while the earth is square; aspects which are echoed in the building’s form through a rectangular base gradually morphing into a tubular form as it rises.

Jian Mu Tower. Image via CRA-Carlo Ratti Associati

The scheme’s façade consists of a 10,000-square-m...

China leads in world's cultural construction activity, finds latest Cultural Infrastructure report

2021-07-28T15:42:00-04:00

China is emerging as a global leader in cultural construction amidst a hectic year that saw a marked decline in new museum building according to AEA Consulting’s just released 2020 Cultural Infrastructure Index.

Overall construction is down 30% in the sector compared to last year’s report, though 2020 did see an increase in announced projects (130) and project values ($8.2 billion) for the first time since the index started keeping tabs in 2016.

The report indicated China as a key driver of trends within the industry, doubling its planned projects from last year to 24 and outspending the United States for the first time by about $1.7 billion. Shenzhen in particular was a magnet for infrastructure spending in the cultural sector, placing seven projects on the list of the top thirteen most expensive globally to the tune of $2.5 billion. Recently announced projects in the city include a new science and technology museum designed by Zaha Hadid Architects, a cloud-inspired maritime muse...

Snøhetta unveils “Lunar” landmark proposal for Shenzhen

2021-07-12T11:49:00-04:00

Snøhetta has released details of their competition entry for a new landmark at Qianhai Bay, Shenzhen. No overall winner was chosen for the competition, with Snøhetta sharing second place with Sou Fujimoto’s floating tower design. Snøhetta’s scheme, titled “Lunar,” is inspired by the concept of data, and the question of whether a landmark should belong to a time or a place.

Image: Snøhetta / Plomp

For the scheme’s design, Snøhetta reflected on the core role of a landmark, asking if such a structure should embody the land in which it sits, or the era in which it was built. “A landmark is a product of its context, a manifestation of the technology of its time,” says the team. “A landmark marks its land, and also marks its era.”

Image: Snøhetta / Plomp

Evoking historical precedents such as the Eiffel Tower and Medieval cathedrals, the team notes that a landmark should reflect the technology of its time. Just as the Eiffel Tower became a symbol of France’s industrial prowess through an ...

China bans construction of skyscrapers over 500 meters tall, citing safety concerns

2021-07-08T12:09:00-04:00

China’s National Development and Reform Commission has implemented an outright ban on the construction of buildings taller than 500 meters, following mounting safety concerns over the quality of some tall projects. The move is seen as a formal ratification of an in-principle ban on new buildings taller than 500 meters announced last year.

The ban follows concern over quality problems and safety hazards for tall buildings in China, stemming from inadequate oversight. In May, we reported on the evacuation of the 291-meter-tall SEG Plaza in Shenzhen, following concerns over mysterious wobbling and swaying felt within the building. The South China Morning Post also notes that the ban is fueled partly by an oversupply of office space in Chinese cities due to three decades of intense skyscraper construction.

Previously on Archinect: Panicked evacuation after mysterious wobbling is felt in Shenzhen skyscraper

In addition to a structural height cap of 500 meters on new buildings, local a...

Sou Fujimoto unveils Sky Island tower for Shenzhen

2021-06-21T12:18:00-04:00

Sou Fujimoto Architects has unveiled designs for a landmark tower in Shenzhen, China. Part of an international competition for which no first prize was awarded, the Fujimoto design was awarded the top ranking through earning second prize. The proposed scheme is 268 meters (879 feet) in height and consists of 99 individual towers grouped to appear as one structure looking onto the waterfront. “Being one and many simultaneously, it symbolizes the future of societies in the age of diversity,” says Sou Fujimoto Architects.

Qianhai New City Center landmark. Image: Sou Fujimoto Architects

For the scheme’s design, the team asked how the “tower” typology could be reimagined in the 21st century, drawing inspiration from the distinctiveness of landmarks such as the Eiffel Tower in Paris. The resulting proposal sees the 99 towers floating with limited points of contact with a main central tower. At the top, the structure spreads broadly, inspired by the natural forms of flowers, clouds, and isl...

Morphosis' Shenzhen skyscraper sets world record with detached core

2021-06-08T11:56:00-04:00

Construction has been completed on the Morphosis-designed Hanking Center, a mixed-use complex with a commercial office tower and retail center located in Shenzhen, China. The 65-story tower is defined by its pioneering steel structural system and a detached-core configuration which places the tower’s primary core on the building’s exterior. This arrangement promotes higher efficiency and adaptability of interior floor plates, as well as the creation of social and work spaces that seamlessly integrate public and private domains. At 359.8m (1180ft) tall, Hanking Center is the tallest detached-core building in the world.

Image: Zhang Chao

“As a typology, skyscrapers tend to emphasize shape as the primary differentiator,” said Pritzker Prize-winning architect and Morphosis Founding Partner Thom Mayne. “Instead, we focused on lived experience within the city. The delamination between the circulation core and the office spaces within the tower generates a threshold, an intensification of t...

Panicked evacuation after mysterious wobbling is felt in Shenzhen skyscraper

2021-05-21T15:32:00-04:00

Thousands of shoppers in the southern Chinese city of Shenzhen fled the vicinity of a 957-foot (291-meter) skyscraper Tuesday, after it inexplicably began swaying. Videos circulating on Chinese social media showed crowds running from the wobbling building, with some screaming and looking back over their shoulders. The weather was fine at the time and there were no reports of an earthquake in the region. No deaths or injuries were reported.

Approximately 15,000 people were inside the SEG Plaza when it began to shake, according to the official newspaper of the Shenzhen Municipal Community Party Committee. Everyone inside was evacuated within 90 minutes, said local authorities.

剛剛中午時分，位於深圳華強北，樓高73層的賽格電子大廈突然搖晃，原因不明也沒地震！樓宇內人群和樓下人群紛紛逃命！ pic.twitter.com/aoixkH6OeY
— 風再起時【香港挺郭后援會3】 (@dZnJUCdo4FlZqgd) May 18, 2021

Authorities investigating the cause of the shake said in a statement that no abnormalities in the building or the surrounding area were found. There were also no earthquakes in the area.

As noted by The Guardian, Chinese media have reported, through a preliminary investigation, that the wobbling was vertical rather than horizontal and that it was likely caused by a combination of winds, underground rail lines beneath the building, and the stretch of steel caused by rising temperatures.

The 21-year-old building is named after semiconductor and electronics manufacturer Shenzhen Electronics Group. It is located in th...

MVRDV’s sustainable, mixed-use Shenzhen Terraces begins construction

2021-05-14T14:43:00-04:00

MVRDV has begun construction on Shenzhen Terraces, a large mixed-use development at the core of the university neighborhood in Shenzhen’s Longgang District. Designed with sustainability as a focus, the project’s green, outdoor spaces house an array of activities, including a theatre, library, museum, conference center, and retail space. All of these programs come together to make the site a hub for meeting, learning, leisure, culture, and relaxation.

Contrasting the surrounding high-rise towers, Shenzhen Terraces comprises a series of stacked and accessible horizontal plates. These features allow the project to seamlessly merge into the existing landscape. In addition, the plates perform an ecological function as they provide shade and their round shape promotes wind flow and natural ventilation.

Image: © Atchain

Shenzhen Terraces has been envisioned as a sustainable hub for the area as it combines a pedestrian-friendly landscape with twenty different programs, including educational...

Sou Fujimoto reveals Shenzhen exhibition hall, designed as “gardens within a box”

2021-05-10T10:30:00-04:00

Sou Fujimoto Architects has unveiled their design for the Shenzhen Reform and Opening-Up Exhibition Hall. Designed in collaboration with Donghua Chen Studio, the exhibition hall is imagined as “gardens within a box” with a village-like indoor space cloaked underneath a multi-layered transparent façade.

Image: Sou Fujimoto Architects & Donghua Chen Studio

The 90,000-square-meter complex is intended as a “window” into Shenzhen, displaying and publicizing the city’s achievements over recent decades. The exhibition hall will serve many roles: a site welcoming guests to the city, an institution collecting research materials, a landmark to signify Shenzhen’s innovative and international brand, and a carrier for the showcasing of Shenzhen’s culture and people.

Image: Sou Fujimoto Architects & Donghua Chen Studio

“The natural elegance of the project emphasizes the harmonious relationship between the landscape and its surrounding context, which creates a humble appearance with a village-li...

SANAA unveils cloud-inspired maritime museum for Shenzhen

2021-05-07T09:44:00-04:00

SANAA has unveiled their design for the Shenzhen Maritime Museum, overlooking the Dapeng Peninsula mountains and Longqi Bay in southern China. The scheme is imagined as a “cloud-like horizontal landmark” says the design team, evoking the imagery of clouds emerging from the sea.

The scheme is organized as a collection of connected hemispheres, made of lattice domes covered by glass and stainless-steel louvres. The form of the roof, designed in collaboration with ARUP, seeks to form organic relationships with its surroundings, cloaked in a semi-transparent material to softly reflect the natural scenery.

Image: SANAA

The flowing roof structure allows visitors free movement throughout the scheme’s 100,000-square-meter open floor plan. Internally, the museum will feature three exhibition areas organized around a central lobby, and interspersed courtyards. While the roof’s lattice structure remains grounded, the system of glass and metal louvres floats above the base, reinforcing the s...

Grimshaw's mangrove tree-inspired design proposal wins international Shenzhen airport and transport hub competition

2021-04-14T15:51:00-04:00

Grimshaw adds another transportation hub to their portfolio after being selected as winners of an international competition for Shenzhen Airport East Integrated Transport Hub. Sponsored by the China National Railway Corporation Limited and Shenzhen Municipal People's Government, the winning proposal answered the brief's call for "an aspirational vision to create an integrated intermodal transport hub to act as a new urban gateway and landmark for the Greater Bay Area."

Shenzhen Transportation Hub - "A design consortium led by Grimshaw, alongside Mott MacDonald, China Aviation Planning and Design Institute (AVIC CAPDI) and Beijing Urban Construction Design and Development Group (BJUCD) has been selected as the winner of an international competition for Shenzhen Airport East Integrated Transport Hub." Image and text courtesy of Grimshaw

Shenzhen transportation Hub. Image courtesy of Grimshaw

Aiding in the transportation of a thousand daily commuters, Grimshaw shares the proposal will p...

Zaha Hadid Architects wins design competition for Tower C at Shenzhen Bay Super Headquarters Base

2021-01-12T18:22:00-05:00

Zaha Hadid Architects (ZHA) was announced as the winner of the design competition to build Tower C at Shenzhen Bay Super Headquarters Base.

The Shenzhen Bay Headquarters Base will be a business and financial center in Shenzhen serving the Greater Bay Area of Guangdong, Hong Kong, and Macau. ZHA designed Tower C as two towers that sit at the intersection of the city's planned north-south green axis and Shenzhen's east-west urban corridor.

Terraced landscapes extend upwards into the two towers, inviting the public into the heart of the building where cultural and pleasure activities will take place. Bridges extend and sweep throughout connecting the two towers whilst offering panoramic views of the city.

Dubbed a "vertical city," the two towers rise to nearly 400m, providing column-free naturally-lit office space, shopping, entertainment, and dining amenities, together with a hotel, convention center, and cultural facilities with exhibition galleries.

The design incorporates many sust...

Zaha Hadid Architects reveals details of their latest museum project, Shenzhen Science and Technology Museum

2020-12-02T14:36:00-05:00

In true parametric fashion, the design team at Zaha Hadid Architects reveals their plans for a new museum located in Shenzhen, China. The new Shenzhen Science & Technology Museum will be the "pearl" of the city's technology and innovation corridor in the Guangming Science City. The latest visuals showcase voluminous forms and eye-catching undulating terraces, and U-shaped volume.

According to the team at Zaha, "The design is a volumetric response to the distinct conditions of the site. Responding to the city to the east, the design is defined by its solidity and dynamic curvilinear geometries that express the many urban circulation routes."

The museum is approximately 1,345,483 sq. f (125,000 sq.m) in size and is set to be a focal point for...

Design team selected for the new Shenzhen Natural History Museum

2020-11-30T11:22:00-05:00

3XN, B+H, and Zhubo Design were recently awarded first place in an international design competition for the new Shenzhen Natural History Museum, set to be the first large-scale comprehensive natural museum in Southern China once complete.

The new 42,000-square-meter museum will be dedicated to the interpretation and communication of the theories of natural evolution, showing the region of Shenzhen and its ecology in the larger context of the world.

The design scheme, entitled "Delta," organically emerges from the river delta that sits on the site, inviting visitors to traverse atop its accessible green roof. A public park expands throughout the roof and articulates the museum's organic form. The bending geometry leads museum-goers to a cave-inspired passage that connects to the museum lobby along with multiple cafes and public spaces.

Pritzker Prize Laureate Yvonne Farrell, Co-Founder of Grafton Architects and one of the judges for the competition, said of the proposal: "This buildi...

OMA-designed mixed-use podium tower opens in Shenzhen

2020-08-31T11:44:00-04:00

Prince Plaza, designed by OMA has opened in Shenzhen, China. The 200-meter tall tower offers 60,000 square meters of office space and sits on a 40,000 square meter podium mall. Located at a prominent view corridor linking the Nanshan mountains and the Shenzhen Bay, this monolith capitalizes on its surrounding panorama to maintain a connectedness to the outside urban landscape.

"Prince Plaza engages with Shekou’s dynamic context formed by its mountains and sea, industrial fabric from the early reform era, and recent skyscrapers," said OMA Managing PArtner David Gianotten in a statment. "Its three sky decks are important design features. They are public spaces for everyone to appreciate the area’s natural environment through the city’s main view corridor. They also break down the otherwise monolithic skyscraper to create an architecture respectable to buildings of distinctive scales in its surroundings."

Formally, the tower is a conglomeration of four bars attached to a central core. ...

MAD Architects shares renderings for Shenzhen Bay Culture Park

2020-06-25T12:58:00-04:00

MAD Architects, led by Ma Yansong, has revealed a new renderings of a masterplan and architectural design for the Shenzhen Bay Culture Park in China. The complex covers roughly 51,000 square meters and will have a total building area of 182,000 square meters which will include the Creative Design Hall, the Shenzhen Science and Technology Museum, and an expansive public green space along the waterfront in Shenzhen, China. The project is expected to be completed in 2023.

Renderings by MIR.

"When building a cultural landmark on a site positioned between the dynamic energy of a modern city and quiet timelessness of nature, it
should be imagined as a free civic space – at first a land art park, with its functions complementing its aesthetics," said Yansong in a statement.

Renderings by Proloog.

The core design scheme is shaped by an open green plaza. Spread across the ground floor are a reception area, standard exhibition halls, public education space, library, auditorium, theater, cafe, ...

NBBJ designs massive "Net City" in Shenzhen for Chinese internet provider Tencent

2020-06-22T12:10:00-04:00

NBBJ has been selected to design Net City, a 2 million-square-meter master-planned district along Shenzhen's Dachanwan Port for Tencent, the largest internet company in China. The concept for Net City builds on the idea of an urban environment as an interconnected, human-focused organic ecosystem.

"Inter-connected, integrated, organic and welcoming, Net City is designed to be a place where people can dream, come together as a community to connect and create new possibilities for the future," said Jonathan Ward, a Design Partner at NBBJ in a statement.

Tencent's current properties and office space cannot accommodate its rapid growth and in 2019 the internet giant held an international competition to develop a master plan for the 320-acre peninsula along Dachanwan. NBBJ was ultimately selected amongst the participants for its innovation approach to the Net City concept, which puts humans as the forefront.

"A typical city calls for simplistic and efficient zoning to keep everything und...

OMA's CMG Qianhai Global Trade Center aims to blur boundaries between building and cityscape

2020-05-11T14:15:00-04:00

A new mixed-use development in Shenzhen, China designed by the Office of Metropolitan Architecture (OMA) ambitiously pushes the "traditional boundaries between building and the urban context."

OMA's CMG Qianhai Global Trade Center project is described as a compressed "Micro City" that the firm believes will be an example of "a tower, a cluster, a neighborhood, and a city."

The clustered volumes aim to visually and physically connect two main towers, a cube-shaped volume in the center, and a lower building complex all into one harmonious development.

Image courtesy of OMA.

Due to Qianhai's surrounding urban landscape, OMA gave itself with the task of creating a development that would contribute to the city's "urban ambition." This transportation-focused development aims to connect the city's two main roads, a bus terminal, and three intersecting metro lines in addition to creating a hub for business, the arts, and the public.

Image courtesy of OMA.

Image courtesy...